Terranigma
| Terranigma | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original title | 天地 創造 |
| transcription | Tenchi Sōzō |
| Studio | Quintet |
| Publisher |
 Enix , Nintendo
|
| Senior Developer |
|
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
October 20, 1995 December 19, 1996 |
| platform | Super Nintendo |
| genre | Action adventure , role play |
| Subject | Fantasy , science fiction |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | SNES controller |
| medium | Cartridge |
| language | German , English , Japanese , French |
Terranigma ( Japanese 天地 創造 , Tenchi Sōzō , literally: creation of heaven and earth ) is a video game and genre mix of action adventure and role play in a fantasy scenario. It was released on October 20, 1995 in Japan and on December 19, 1996 in Europe for the Super Nintendo game console and is the final part of the unofficial Soul Blazer series.
backgrounds
At the time Terranigma was released, the successor to the SNES, the Nintendo 64 , was about to be released in Europe, and competitors Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn were already replacing 16-bit consoles on the video game market. Terranigma therefore appeared as one of the last great role-playing games for the SNES in Europe. Terranigma is one of the few Super Nintendo games that was released in Europe but not in North America.
While in other role-playing games the world can usually be saved, in Terranigma it must first be recreated. The music for the game was composed by Miyoko Kobayashi and Masanori Hikichi , who gave the most important characters and locations in the game their own signature melodies .
Terranigma is a mixture of role-playing game and action-adventure, but the developers have also incorporated elements of the economic simulation genre . For example, you have the opportunity to help villages and towns develop.
The German translation was carried out by Club Nintendo magazine under the direction of Claude M. Moyse.
action
Chapter 1: Sunken Continents
The protagonist of the game is a youth named Ark (English for ark ) who lives in Krysta, a remote village in the underworld. One day when the village elder goes for a walk, the young people unite to break open a door out of curiosity, which the village elder forbids them to ever open. When they hear a voice from the other side of the door asking for "liberation", they are frightened and flee. Only Ark descends the dark steps until he discovers a glowing, rotating chest that opens upon his touch and releases a creature named Fluffy. Melina appears behind him and asks what he is doing here, but then suddenly freezes to ice like all the other residents of Krysta, with the exception of Ark and the village elder. The village elder explains that Ark can only undo this if he passes the tests of the five towers. After Ark has passed the exams, the village elder gives him the task of traveling to the overworld to restore all life there.
Chapter 2: Fauna and Flora
Ark starts in South America. There he saves the sun tree Ra, the origin of all plants. He then sets out for North America to free the birds and the wind. These then take him to Africa, where he frees the remaining animals. After all, he travels to Asia to reawaken humanity.
Chapter 3: Light and Shadow
Ark continues its journey to Europe. He accompanies human civilization at some crucial points, e.g. B. he saves the inventor of the airplane. In the course of his journey, Ark discovers the mad scientist Beruga, who invented a means for immortality. He only wants to give this drug to people who he thinks are "important", and he wants to kill the rest with the help of a virus he has developed - as he has done before. When Ark tries to stop Beruga, he is struck down. In a vision, the village elder appears in front of Ark and says that he has fulfilled his task and can now rest for eternity. Ark now realizes that it was only used, but is rescued by his friends before death can catch up with him.
To stop Beruga, he puts five moonstones in a shrine at the South Pole. A figure appears in front of Ark. She explains that Ark is a legendary hero who maintains the balance of the world. However, since Ark is only the dark aspect of this hero, he is killed by the character, the light aspect of himself.
Chapter 4: Ways of Fate
Ark is reborn as a true hero. He confronts Beruga and thwarts his plans, but it becomes clear that Beruga was also only a puppet of a dark power that works from the underworld. So Ark goes back to the underworld to finally face this power. It turns out that the village elder of Krysta is a material incarnation of Ragnara and thus embodies the dark power from the underworld. After Ark has finally defeated the different forms of the god of the underworld (Agarack and Ragnara), Fluffy appears to thank Ark for the journey together and to say goodbye, as he is now going to sleep again until the next chosen one has his chest will open. After Fluffy has disappeared, Divina, the goddess of the upper world, tells him that after Ragnara's defeat, the destruction of Krysta and the underworld will begin and that the upper world will finally be able to recover. She tells Ark that he was created by the power of evil, but was reborn by the power of good, thus uniting the blood of Ragnara and Divina, but since his task is now complete, his body will soon also fade. Ark becomes thoughtful, but leaves Melina ignorant that Krysta will soon disappear. He looks at his home Krysta one last time and then goes to sleep. In the dream Melina appears to him from the underworld and confesses that she wanted to kill him as a baby in Storkholm, because in Krysta only the word of the village elder counted and he ordered it. But then she recognized the evil in the village elder. She promises Ark that fate will bring them together and that they will meet again soon. Thereupon Ark falls into an even deeper sleep and dreams his last dream: he flies as a free bird over the world.
After midnight there are several knocks on Melina's door until she opens it ...
main characters
- Ark ( ア ー ク , Āku ) has lived with the village elder since his parents disappeared. He has a tendency to play pranks on others, which often gets him into trouble. Ark spends most of his free time with his girlfriend Melina in Krysta (Japanese ク リ ス タ ル ホ ル ム , Kurisutaruhorumu for Swedish Kristallholm ). Ark is the main playable character.
- Melina from Krysta ( エ ル , Eru , from English Elle ) is Ark's friend and works in a weaving mill. Her strict mother watches over her so that Ark doesn't incite her to do anything stupid. Like Ark, she comes from the underworld and later follows him to the upper world.
- The village elder ( 長老 , chōrō ) is the village chief of Krysta. He taught Ark the important things in life, tried to guide him on the right path with his wisdom and gave him the task of awakening the upper world. In reality, however, he is Ragnara.
- Ragnara ( Dark Gaia , ダ ー ク ガ イ ア , Dāku Gaia ), is the manifestation of evil and the god of the underworld. He was responsible for the first destruction of the earth and is now trying to bring the newly revitalized earth completely under his control.
- Divina (from Latin divina, "divine") is the counterpart to Ragnara. She is the goddess of the upper world and reports to Ark after the defeat of Ragnara about the annihilation of the underworld that is now beginning.
- Fluffy ( ヨ ミ , Yomi ; Fluffy from English "fluffy"; "fluffy") lived for millennia in a chest (English Box of Pandora ) until Ark broke its seal. Since then, Fluffy has accompanied Ark on his journey. Little by little, Ark receives more and more information about the mysterious being. At the end of the game it turns out that Fluffy is the archetype of all living things and the last of his kind. Yomi is also the name of the underworld or the land of the dead in Shinto .
- Ma-Jo ( メ イ ホ ウ , Meihō ) is an old, wise and well-traveled monk. He is also Mei-Lin's grandfather. Ark meets him in Lhasa . Ma-Jo has the gift of prophecy.
- Mei-Lin ( メ イ リ ン , Meirin ) met Ark in the ghost town of Luran ( ロ ウ ラ ン , Rōran for Chinese Loulan ), where her parents once lived until they died. Mei-Lin is Ma-Jo's granddaughter and has the ability to create illusions. Until she meets Ark, she is very lonely and only has her dog Deppi and her grandfather Ma-Jo. Mei-Lin and Ark become friends and Mei-Lin helps him several times. She falls in love with Ark, but when the latter does not reciprocate Mei-Lin's love because of his love for Melina, Mei-Lin has a tantrum and the friendship between the two is very strained.
- Fyda ( フ ィ ー ダ , Fīda ) is a swordsman who was commissioned to protect the life of Melina from Storkholm. Ark meets her in the city of Loire.
- Roy ( ロ イ ド , Roido , from Engl. Lloyd ) is a mysterious sword fighter who always stays calm. Ark meets him for the first time in the castle of Loire. They later meet in different places. Roy used to be a mercenary.
- Melina from Storkholm is Melina from Krysta's overworld double. Ark meets her for the first time in the throne room of Loire Castle, where she sits silently next to the king. She has not spoken a word since her parents' death at the hand of the king, until one of Mei-Lin's illusions breaks her block.
- Perry ( ペ ル ル , Peruru ) is a boy Ark meets in the city of Liberita. Perry has always loved skateboarding. With this ability he can often help Ark. Perry works in an orphanage.
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Beruga ( ベ ル ー ガ , Berūga ) is a scientist who once won the Nobel Prize in Biotechnology . Since then he has devoted himself to research on immortality. In order to achieve his goals he is also ready to kill.
Ark meets Beruga for the first time in his laboratory near the city of Devota ( グ ラ ン ド モ ス ク , Gurando Mosuku for Grand Mosque , "Great Mosque"; Devota from Latin devotio, " godly devotion "), where Beruga is worshiped as a god. He also maintains a laboratory tower and an airship in Eastern Siberia. Beruga is very close to the means to immortality, but he only plans to immortalize those who in his opinion are important. It also turns out that Beruga is responsible for the extinction of the earth (before the onset of the game plot) by a virus he developed and is a puppet of Ragnara. - Fluffy of the Upper World becomes Arks' new companion after the Fluffy of the Underworld tried to kill him. He takes over the memories of Ark's journey from the Fluffy of the Underworld and gives Ark the “Hero's weapons” (Terralanze and Enigma armor) to defeat Beruga.
Locations
The upper world in Terranigma represents the real earth, with some places having different names. For example, the Himalayan mountains in the game are called Eklemata, Shanghai or another Chinese city becomes Yamei ( ユ ン コ ウ , Yunkō ), Chicago becomes Seeheim ( ニ ア レ イ ク , Nia Reiku for Near Lake ) etc. In the underworld, crystals rise up everywhere a piece of land surrounded by lava. Only the village of Krysta differs from the rest of the underworld. It looks very idyllic, with meadows, trees and a small river. Above Krysta lies the crystal nebula, which consists of the material from which all life is created and into which all life passes over again to be formed into new life.
In the upper world, Ark can later enter villages and cities. There he can rest, buy items and talk to the residents. The player can influence the further development of the game world at certain points. After the introduction of democracy in Loire, the player with the decisive vote in the mayoral election can choose between the committed and progressive candidate Jean and the inexperienced and conservative candidate Louis. Only under Jean as mayor will Loire develop into a larger city as the game progresses. In other cities, their development can be promoted through tourism. To do this, you have to take photos of the cities in the game and pass them on to the tourist offices in the cities. Seeheim can be rebuilt after its great fire (see Great Fire of Chicago ) by collecting donations from important people in the game. Later on, you can also ensure that airports are built, which means that new places can be opened up and travel to certain places takes significantly less time.
Game mechanics
The game is controlled from a bird's eye view. In large parts of the game, the player can explore a free world (on foot, by ship, by plane or with the help of birds). The game is divided into a world map and area maps, which also differ visibly through the use of different graphic representations (2D tiles for the area maps and texture mapping mode 7 for the world map). In addition to following the main storyline, you can also do other side tasks, for example to get better equipment. In some cases, the secondary tasks (e.g. town planning) are so interwoven with the main plot that you have to have already completed certain secondary tasks in order to advance in the main plot. Like many role-playing games, the game is divided into peaceful areas (e.g. the cities) and combat areas.
When Ark has defeated many opponents, his level increases , which makes him stronger and makes him easier to defeat his opponents.
This increases his attack power, his defense, his luck factor and his vitality.
The points are distributed automatically to these attributes. As is common in many role-playing games, they cannot be distributed by yourself.
The attack power increases the damage done to the enemy per hit.
The defense lowers the damage suffered by the enemy per hit.
The luck factor increases the chance of a particularly strong hit.
The vitality determines the level of the strength points .
Ark's power points are deducted when hit by an enemy.
When he has lost all power points, he falls over and wakes up where the game progress was last saved.
Ark fights with spears , of which he can find or buy 25 specimens of different strengths. Armor is available to him to reduce the damage caused by enemy attacks , of which he can also find or buy 25 and which have different strengths and bonuses. He learns magic with which he can heal himself, strengthen himself and use it for battle. The opponents in the game include demons , monsters , ghosts , zombies and robots , among others . Defeated opponents often leave behind money, from which, for example, new weapons and armor can be bought.
In addition to the normal attack, Ark can use four different techniques with his spears. One of them is the so-called lightning stab , in which he runs and lets the weapon shoot forward. This attack is particularly effective against fast opponents. During the rampage he throws his spear around like wildly, which can be used well in the fight against many small isolated opponents. When using the whirling blade , Ark jumps and turns his weapon at the same time, so that flying enemies are hit particularly hard. At the spark plow, he runs, jumps and rubs the weapon on the ground, which is particularly helpful against large and heavy opponents. He can also use his weapon as a shield against projectiles. As usual in action adventures, the fights take place in real time (instead of turn-based, as is more typical for role-playing games).
References to reality
In the game, one repeatedly encounters allusions to real historical events or folklore. The cities and areas in the upper world have consistently real role models, such as B. Lhasa, Luran ( Loulan ) and Storkolm ( Stockholm ).
The characters are also often based on historical personalities. In Luran you meet the researcher Hedi ( Sven Hedin ) for the first time , who visits the desert city. In the Loire Castle prison one can free the thief Rob Wood ( Robin Hood ), who steals from the rich to give to the poor. You travel to America with Kolumbo ( Christopher Columbus ), help Sam (in English Bell - Alexander Graham Bell ) with the invention of the telephone and John (in English Eddy - Thomas Alva Edison ) in experiments with lightbulbs.
The name of the final boss Ragnara probably comes from the Norse legend Ragnarök , which describes the battle of the gods.
Adaptations and soundtrack
Two novels about the game were published in Japan in 1996: Tenchi Sōzō - Light in the darkness ( 天地 創造 - Light in the darkness; ISBN 4-87025-864-1 ) by Saori Kumi by Enix, and Tenchi Sōzō ( ISBN 4-89366-456 -5 ) by Norio Nakai at Aspects player novel- Imprint Logout Bōken Bunko.
The game book Gamebook Tenchi Sōzō ( ゲ ー ム ブ ッ ク 天地 創造 ; ISBN 4-87025-904-4 ) was also published by Enix .
In addition, the game was adapted as a manga . This appeared in Enix ' manga magazine Gekkan G Fantasy and was drawn by Mamiko Yasaka. The chapters were also published in two anthologies ( Tankōbon ; ISBN 4-87025-569-3 and ISBN 4-87025-581-2 ).
The soundtrack for the game with 33 titles appeared at the same time as the game under the title Tenchi Sōzō Creative Soundtracks (catalog number KTCR-1344) on Kitty Films record label Kitty Records.
reception
Terranigma received good ratings on average in the German press.
Video Games magazine rated the game with 85% in issue 2/1997, while Mega Fun magazine gave 80% in issue 2/1997. The Mega Fun deducted points, however, because the enclosed game advisor contained the solutions to many puzzles and this depressed the fun of the game. The magazine Total! awarded the school grade 2+. For example, the testers found the varied locations and the exciting story positive, while the moderate level of difficulty was criticized.
Web links
- Terranigma at MobyGames (English)
- Tenchi souzou (Japanese version) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Terranigma at rpg-oase.de (fansite)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tenchi Sozo Creative Soundtracks. In: VGMdb. Retrieved September 14, 2013 .
- ↑ Ninretro - Terranigma . Retrieved September 11, 2013.